Talk:Skifander
Out of curiosity, where did you see that Lucrezia knows about Skifander? I couldn't find it. -- that old bearded guy 04:16, 25 February 2008 (UTC) * It doesn't necessarily mean she knows much, but I figured if she can recognize Zeetha's origins on sight she must know something. - Acacia Onna Stik 04:24, 25 February 2008 (UTC) ::Good find. I'd missed that. -- that old bearded guy 04:31, 25 February 2008 (UTC) Warrior Queen's Hidden Jewel If you think about it, this phrase could refer to anything, not necessarily the city of Skifander itself. It could be the title of the story Uncle Barry told her, or an actual jewel, or... well, anything. (Is it just my prurient brain, or does this phrase sound slightly euphemistic? :P) --mnenyver 17:32, 27 February 2008 (UTC) :You're not the only one, but then I've been cheerfully lowering the tone of Internet discourse since first I showed up. -- Acacia 19:34, 27 February 2008 (UTC) :: Hey, it could refer to Gil! Sugeatarc 01:16, 8 June 2009 (UTC) :In isolation, okay, sure, but, ah... just WHAT kind of story do you think Barry was telling his less-than-seven-years-old niece? :) PersephoneKore 21:32, 9 July 2009 (UTC) :: I wasn't suggesting that, I swear! Related, there's an amusing post somewhere with Kaja's "oh, ew ew!" response to this very idea. — m (talk) 03:38, 10 July 2009 (UTC) Opar Note that (at least early, but evidently Opar is already well-developed (IYKWIM) by the fifth) Edgar Rice Burroughs' novels are available from Project Gutenburg. See the wikipedia entry. ⚙Zarchne 16:14, 30 August 2008 (UTC) Actual Location Skifander has to physically be somewhere, that is remote enough from Europe that Lucrezia was surprised Klaus came back at all, much less in only a few years. Is it possible that the Skiff are literal Amazons? As in, a civilization built along the Amazon river in South America. The lack of American significane in European politics by 1892 implies an isolation between hemispheres, that could be explained by some kind of major barrier to transportation. If this barrier prevented any major colonization efforts, then Skifander could be descendants of people who weren't displaced by the Spanish and Porteugese.--Necrotas 23:51, February 21, 2010 (UTC) : Self-Counter. Lack of American influence could also be explained by U.S. not revolting. This makes it simply part of the British Empire, and is superceded by Europan-English politics.--Necrotas 23:53, February 21, 2010 (UTC) :: No, there is apparently some kind of barrier, officially -- but there hasn't always been. Travel was possible a few decades ago -- the Heterodyne Boys evidently adventured with the American Spark Thundering Engine Woman; I don't know which continent they were all on at the time, but somebody must have crossed an ocean -- but at the time of the story it isn't. One of the TPU professors has been trying and failing repeatedly. PersephoneKore 00:41, February 22, 2010 (UTC) :: To be fair, Prof. Vogel doesn't appear to have considered building a boat. Or stocking a zeppelin. If there is a barrier, I'd assume it to be something like giant sea monsters (possibly related to sunken England?), or a permanent storm or something. Something that makes trans-atlantic travel extremely inconvenient, but not impossible, thus allowing the Thundering Engine Woman to tour Europe, but not a large-scale colonization effort.--Necrotas 00:57, February 22, 2010 (UTC) : I don't have the citation handy, but as I recall, the Foglios have said colonization efforts failed because the American Sparks were able to counter them. The barrier still seems to be something new and separate, and not merely a case of Thundering Engine Woman or the Heterodynes being the only ones good enough to get past it. Maybe I should bug Corgi for more information; she probably remembers where it is. PersephoneKore 07:15, April 11, 2010 (UTC) While Zeetha has a fever, she sees the furniture floating by the ceiling. This is more explicit in the novel, but clear enough in the comichttp://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20041101. Sounds like zero gravity! Also in the novel, Bill and Barry are given a clue to the origin of the hive engines by the steep vertical angle they fall at, so it must be very high up. None of the pictures of Skifander show the outdoors - it's a roofed city. So it could be the Moon, or Mars (where the Dragon comes from!) or another planet. --Pmw (talk) 23:58, April 12, 2013 (UTC)